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Challenging times can make you feel - Suspended in Thin Air

Posted July 1st, 2009 by Anne Tyler Lord in Integral Art

I have been giving a lot of thought to our challenging times, having been through a few myself through this recession, with all going on in our world, even yesterday as my husband was taken to the emergency room, with thankfully, only hyperventilation instead of a heart attack.  I wrote a Integral poem about the perspectives we can gain through challenging times - a little pointing out instruction.  My poem is a little long, so I included a link to the video version that my husband put together for me.  I hope this will inspire a few others who may be going through hard times.

 There are times we find ourselves in difficult circumstances, death of a loved one, financial problems, uncertainty, illness, injury, or spiritual crisis. I wrote this poem with these experiences in mind. These are times we get wrung-out and squeezed down to the essence of life. At this moment in our history, individuals in our society are going through these experiences simultaneously, in great numbers. Some will give in to desperation, others will move closer to the light. It is our chance to raise the collective consciousness surrounding the events of our challenging times to ease the path towards discovering Spirit, for those who follow.

Video version of Suspended In Thin Air

Suspended In Thin Air

I'm suspended in thin air,
So thin I can hardly breathe.

I'm suspended in thin air,
questioning the invisible force
of suspension.

I'm suspended in thin air,
predicting a plunge,
hoping to float.

Have I forgotten how to fly?
Or have I never?
Vagueness of past
residence and events
perplexes.

I'm suspended in thin air,
looking for others,
in this strange predicament.

Alone, uncertain,
gasping for breathe,
terrified of wrong moves.

Watching those on the ground,
barely visible, so tiny.
They are busy, blind, daily routines,
so far away,
from this reality.

I'm suspended in thin air,
a place outside time,
but trapped within
movement of events.

I'm suspended in thin air,
becoming invisible,
fading from view,
ofthose who move fast.

FEAR

What can I see, suspended in thin air?
Vision goes inward.
All externals fade.

I see fear looking at me,
I curiously watch
familiar stares.
I do not choose,
I am chosen.

Each day a new expression,
a new reason,
a new way,
FEAR becomes alive, animated, aggravated.

FEAR overtakes me, possesses,
Fear makes me shake,
afraid of tomorrow.

Impending doom, devastation, demolition,
wracking body, mind and soul,
out of control,
CHAOS takes over.

And I forget...

FEAR is something else,
not me.

Significance strengthens.
I become more transient, translucent, transparent.

ANGER

FEAR mutates to anger!
Raging at those most loved, those most hated,
those unknown, those un-alive,
dreaded circumstances,
past and future!

Anger grabs with sharp talons,
ripping flesh with delight,
blind with pain,
until there is barely a trace...

And I forget,

ANGER is something else,
not me.

Significance strengthens.
I feel more transient, translucent, transparent.

SADNESS & GRIEF

When FEAR turns to deep SADNESS & GRIEF,

tears come spontaneously
sadness slows movement
grief takes over
everyone is alone
none to help
stuck in here
loss all around
all is gone
run and hide
never to return

And, I forget,

SADNESS & GRIEF are something else,
not me.

Significance strengthens.
I am more transient, translucent, transparent.

What can be seen,
suspended in thin air?

When vision goes inward,
and death feels real!

When FEAR, ANGER, SADNESS & GRIEF,
are not me,

Who AM I?
Pops forth.

And,

I AM

quiet...                peaceful...               still...

compassion...             empathy...              love...

truth...             beauty...                 eternity...

I AM the one who observes...
the one who is observed...

I AM...

the thin air...

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Suspended in thin air

Posted July 1st, 2009 by Linda Hollier

Dear Anne

The repetition of the words “suspended in thin air” throughout your poem very aptly conveyed the concept of suspension – an ongoing floating, looking down on the surroundings, and the emotions that accompany it.

The gradual realization of the “I Am”, the observer and the observed, comes only after the realization that the emotions I feel are not who I am.  The mindfulness needed to observe this, although not mentioned, was illustrated in the unfolding of the poem.

I AM...

the thin air...

“And then the wind will be your breath, the stars the neurons in your brain, the sun the taste of the morning, the earth the way your body feels.  The Heart will open to the All, the Kosmos will rush into your soul, you will arise as countless galaxies and swirl for all eternity.  There is only self-existing Fullness left in all the world, there is only self-seen Radiance here in Emptiness – etched on the wall of infinity, preserved for all eternity, the one and only truth: there is just this, snap your fingers, nothing more”.    From “One Taste” by Ken Wilber.

This painting is one in a series entitled “Mysteriously suspended in thin air” by Beatriz Ledesma.  Her depiction seems to resonate with your poem in its gradual unfolding.

Placing the written word and the painted one next to each other only adds to the depth of the concept you have both so beautifully portrayed.

Thank you.

I sincerely hope that your husband is recovering well.

Best wishes

Linda

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Information field

Posted July 1st, 2009 by Linda Hollier

Hi Anne,

I have been attempting to post this for the last half an hour under your comment "Beautiful". It keeps coming up blank so I've decided to try it here as a new comment.

In the last while I have been thinking quite a bit about the possibility of the existence of an information field that we all share.  Maybe we tap into it unconsciously and perhaps it is possible to do so consciously. I suspect that artists do so more than most.

I have heard of the quantum non-locality of Lazlo, and Teilhard de Chardin’s Noosphere but do not know enough about these topics to back up what I am saying from their theories.  The akashic records are another possible attempt to explain this field.

Further information on this topic would be most welcome.

If there is such a field, I would suspect that at different points in history, different individuals would depict similar ideas in different forms according to their talents and capabilities.  An example of this would be you and Beatriz depicting the notion of “suspended in thin air” in different art forms. 

Interesting too, is the fact that this field could be the very “thin air” being experienced in your poem and depicted in the paintings!

And, that painting is REALLY beautiful!  How did you ever find it? Do you know this artist?

While thinking about your poem I just typed in the words  “suspended in thin air” and googled images.  Was this also a tapping into this field at that moment?  I don’t know.

It is amazing to me to converse and connect with those on the other side of the Earth!  

The benefits and joys of cyberspace never cease to astound me and amaze me either.  Time and distance are suspended as it were in this special “we-space”.

Well Anne, I have really enjoyed chatting to you. 

Regards

Linda